Cardiac Theft
by MechaUltimaZero
Summary: My first attempt at a One Piece story, and also my first try at having romance as the main plot point. Nami has made it a point to get up before the rest of the crew for some peace and quiet, but she's not the only one up early this morning. Luffy/Nami.


Cardiac Theft

**I've recently gotten into the **_**One Piece**_** manga, and so I'm writing a fanfic about it. No huge plot, just a one-shot to get started. And naturally, the first idea that came to mind was kinda fluffy – because the first one-shot fanfic idea for a brand new category (in which you're just starting) is almost always of a romantic type. I'm also going to try and be a bit more humorous with this story than I usually am, partly because **_**One Piece**_** is a much less serious manga than most of what I read (like **_**Claymore**_**). Now then, the pairing of this fic is Luffy/Nami, mostly because I don't think Sanji's quite cool enough to warrant getting the girl – that's an honor reserved for the main character, unless I say otherwise, and in **_**One Piece**_**, the main character is very obviously Luffy. Same goes for (as an example) the various Digimon seasons: Tai/Sora, Davis/Kari (although I also can accept T.K./Kari in some situations), Takato/Rika (Fuck off, Ryo), and Takuya/Zoe (because Koji just doesn't fit).**

Nami stretched and yawned a bit as she awoke with the sunrise, before quickly getting dressed and going out on the deck. After joining the Straw Hat crew (particularly after Usopp and Sanji had been recruited), Nami had quickly made a habit of waking up before anyone else, so that she'd have at least some peace and quiet during the day.

And having begun this train of thought, she briefly considered each of her crewmates, and why she found them annoying.

First up was Sanji, who was completely infatuated with her. While it was rather flattering, Nami couldn't help but feel a bit irked that he never seemed to get the hints that she simply wasn't interested. He was a great chef, though, and, as a reasonably hygienic person, she found him fairly easy to tolerate – except that every day, without fail, he got into a fight with the First Mate, Roranoa Zolo.

Zolo, too, had his moments, but he was somewhat foulmouthed, slept on the job more often than not, and argued with Nami almost as much as he brawled with Chef Sanji.

Then there was Usopp, who was by far the most annoying of the entire crew: he was a compulsive liar and a braggart (not to mention a coward compared to everyone else), and his only redeeming quality, his accuracy with weapons, was pretty much nullified by the fact that he used a **slingshot** of all things!

Nami was perfectly willing to admit that she was, without a doubt the greediest person on the ship, and she'd sold out the rest of the crew on more than one occasion, but she couldn't help it if she loved money more than anyone else (along with tangerines).

And thus, her daily analysis brought her at last to the Captain, Monkey D. Luffy. Like Usopp, he was usually fairly loud, but that unlike that whimpering excuse for a marksman, Luffy was generally a pretty honest person, and he was definitely the strongest person on the ship; partly because he was made of rubber thanks to the Gum-Gum Fruit. Granted, he was also probably the dumbest person on the ship. She had to admit, though, that of all the Straw Hat Pirates, Captain Luffy had the most good points.

Leaning against the aft railing of the ship, Nami took a deep breath of the cool morning air coming in from the West, and found that she was unable to stop herself from making a list of her Captain's said positive qualities.

As Chef Zeff of the ocean-going restaurant Baratie had said, "Grit counts more than steel." And grit was something that Luffy had in spades – Nami chuckled to herself at the thought that Monkey D. Luffy was probably the grittiest man in history, maybe even moreso than the legendary Gold Roger. He'd also seemingly learned a few traits from his hero, Red-Haired Shanks, in that he would invariably beat the living crap out of anyone who attacked his friends. And, not that she'd ever admit it to anyone else, she kind of thought that the scar under his left eye made him look cute, in a "rubber-teddy-bear-with-a-rocket-launcher" kind of way.

Nami sighed a bit: Luffy may have been a complete dumbass, but he was an honest, courageous, and compassionate dumbass.

As she turned around to look at the sunrise, however, she was surprised to find the object of her musings sitting in his usual place upon the prow of the Merry Go, but silent as the grave.

As far as she knew, the only time Luffy was anywhere _near_ silent was when he was asleep. Intrigued by this anomaly, the ship's Navigator quietly strode towards the bow of the vessel, wondering what could possibly be the matter.

As she approached, however, Nami realized that, every now and then, while Zolo was asleep in the Crow's Nest and Sanji was in the galley, she'd catch Luffy hanging around somewhere near her, apparently minding his own business, but never more than five to ten feet away from her – just as silent as he was now, but when he realized that he'd been caught, the Captain instantly resumed his normal loud, semi-obnoxious behavior.

As the expert thief stopped to lean on the railing a couple of yards port to the figurehead, she offhandedly said, "The sunrise is beautiful, isn't it?"

She knew that she was calmer now than she usually was, but that's because (most of) the rest of the crew was asleep, and therefore not stressing her out… yet.

The Captain nodded, before saying, "Nami, we need to get a doctor sometime soon."

Nami was surprised at her boss for speaking in such a mature manner, although logically, they should've focused on recruiting a medic immediately after hiring their cook. Still, she was surprised to hear Luffy say it out of the blue like that, especially since he, out of the entire crew, was the one _least_ likely to ever NEED medical assistance.

Curious as to why he'd brought it up, Nami replied, "We do need a medic, but why are you bringing it up so suddenly?"

Though she kept it to herself, she considered that they probably needed a decent shrink, too.

Luffy actually sounded a little sad as he answered, "I think I'm having heart troubles. Sometimes, it starts beating faster and faster whenever you're around, and a few times it stopped completely."

Then, with a bit of a chuckle, he continued, "I can feel it beating, even now, pounding like a jackhammer. But I still think I need a doctor, because I'm not entirely sure that it's there."

Nami was, by this point, extremely confused, though if she'd been able to see her Captain's face, she'd find him red as a boiled lobster. "If you can hear and feel it beating so completely, then why do you need a doctor to tell you if it's there?"

Monkey D. "Straw Hat" Luffy turned towards the orange-haired thief, navigator, and cartographer with a violent blush and an embarrassed grin on his face as he said, "Because you're the greatest thief in the world, Nami. I know it because you stole my heart."

Nami's original analysis of her Captain was essentially turned upside-down.

Before she could control herself, she felt her own face heating up a bit as she asked, "Oh really? I seriously doubt you need a doctor for that, Cap."

It was the first time that anyone had called Luffy "Cap", instead of "Captain" or by his name (or, in Sanji's case from time to time, "Crap-Luffy" or "Crap-Captain"). He decided that, at least when Nami said it, he liked it. Not entirely sure of what she meant, though, he asked, "What do you mean, I don't need a doctor?"

Nami blushed a fair bit more as she answered, "If I really stole your heart, Luffy, then you don't need to fear going without one – because you've stolen mine from me in return."

**My first attempt at a One Piece story, and also my first serious attempt at romance as the main plot point. I wanted to show a more serious, yet innocent side of Luffy while preserving his intelligence (or to be more precise, lack thereof), and at the same time present Nami in a softer, more caring light. The meaning of the title should be all to obvious by this point. In addition, this is likely to be the only story I'll EVER write that's kid-friendly enough to be rated as K+. Fear not, the M- and T-Rated madness will resume soon enough! Of that, I can assure you.**

**As always, of course, please read and review.**


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